Forevermore
by Rhomea
Summary: Canon up to 2x07. When Caroline began her undead life, she knew that it would be different. She didn't expect that her new unlife would take her best friends and herself 1000 years in the past. Follow Caroline, Elena, and Bonnie as they reap the consequences of their choices, and face even harder decisions in their new future. Time travel fic, please read and review.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hey everyone! Welcome to my story! This is a time travel fic (because who doesn't love time travel?) - I hope you enjoy! My OTP is the main feature of this story, Klaroline - but Elejah and _maybe_ some others might make an appearance. This is my first fanfic in a VERY long time, and the first I've posted to this website. Please read and review - I would love to hear your comments! I have a good chunk of the story written already... You can expect updates from me about once a week or so. Earlier if I can manage, but it shouldn't be slower than that unless life throws me some lemons. I don't have a beta, so if you want the role, let me know. Also, I'm going to be taking some liberties with what's considered canon on the show - not too many, but a few. Mainly anything to do with Silas. I HATED that story arc. **

**This story is canon up through TVD 2x07 'Masquerade', except that Elena was never kidnapped. Thanks everyone!**

Title: Forevermore

Chapter 1 – A Bad Idea

"Remind me again why we're doing this?"

Caroline watched the sunlight dance through the leaves of the overhead trees, as Bonnie and Elena double-checked the items in front of them. Despite basking in the warm summer sun, Caroline wished she was anywhere but where she was. All she had been looking forward to when she woke up that morning was a lazy Sunday in her pajamas, watching bad television and pretending the rest of the world didn't exist. After the masquerade and dealing with Katherine's psychotic demands, Caroline felt that she well and truly deserved a day off – they all did. However, Fate had other plans, and all of her hopes for the day went out the window when she opened her door to find Bonnie and Elena with expectant faces and Bonnie's grimoire.

It had taken Caroline just two minutes in the car to hear out her friends and come to the conclusion that this day was steadily going to get worse. She was the queen of preparedness, the master of research; going off of an ancient – but sketchy – spell book without first looking up every detail of what to expect was far from reassuring.

However, if there was anything Caroline was sure of in life, it was that Bonnie Bennett and Elena Gilbert were two of the best friends she could ever imagine. Sure, the events of the past year bent their relationships further than ever, starting with the death of Elena's parents, Bonnie's powers flaring, Caroline's death and unlife, and finally breaking through Katherine's reign of terror and subsequent imprisonment, but they never broke. It wasn't in Caroline to let her friends work through a complicated (see: dodgy) spell on their own. She has morals, thank you very much.

"Care, you heard about what Katherine said on doppelgängers. What does Elena being a doppelgänger have to do with her being in danger? Where do doppelgängers even come from anyway, specifically Elena's line? This is our chance to actually learn something about it. Just trust me, this spell can work. We cast it, and there's just that much more information that we didn't have before. When we have these questions answered, then we can decide whether or not to take Katherine seriously in her warning."

Caroline huffed as she rolled back into the grass behind her – she had heard it all before. They all had, in all honesty. It's been at the forefront of all of their minds since the masquerade and Katherine's warning. And they didn't know any more now than they did then.

And that was the crux of the issue. All Katherine could get out before Damon shut the tomb door on her was that Elena was in danger because she was the doppelgänger; they didn't know why, and no one was willing to open the door again to interrogate Katherine further. That idea had floated around very briefly, before it was shut down in a snarky, Damon-esqe response of 'Screw that, screw her, and screw you for mentioning it; you don't open the door to Satan after you slam it in her face.' A thorough search on Google turned out to be more depressing than informative – no one enjoys being labeled as a harbinger of bad luck or death. And despite being an evil slut vampire (Damon's words, not Caroline's… even if she didn't exactly disagree), Katherine being the oldest being around – as well as a doppelgänger herself – makes her the unfortunate subject matter expert on anything doppelgänger related.

Caroline was of the opinion that Damon was correct in his assumption that Katherine would say or do anything to stop her from being locked in the tomb, and that there was likely no danger to Elena. However, for Elena, all it did was raise questions; most notably, why did doppelgängers exist in the first place? And being Elena's best friends, Caroline and Bonnie were duty bound to find those answers and do everything they could to make sure their friend wasn't in mortal danger. Again, Caroline has morals, thank you very much.

So when Bonnie showed up this morning with a spell she had found in one of her grimoires, why did Caroline feel as if things were going to go horribly wrong?

"Come on, Care" Elena remarked as she smiled reassuringly, "Bonnie says that this spell will allow us to look back on what we need to see. Then we'll have our answers, and we can put all of this behind us, for good." And more than anything, Elena needed this. She needed to have answers, to feel safe again, more than she needed to breathe. The past several months had haunted her; she felt as if she was being hunted, and it hadn't dissipated. Elena just wanted it to end. She wanted to go back in time, to a point when she could fall into her parents embrace and anything horrible would be chased away.

Bonnie nodded along, "Exactly. The spell allows the caster 'to witness what they seek'. Its essentially similar to a scrying spell – it's going to be similar to watching a documentary. We learn everything we need to know about the creation of doppelgängers, and then we can determine whether or not to be concerned about what Katherine said."

Caroline watched as Bonnie and Elena carefully arranged candles at equal intervals around a large silver bowl of water on the ground, leaving space around them for the girls to sit. Beside Bonnie was a knife. Bonnie had explained that she would use the natural energy from the four elements – the water in the bowl, fire from the candles, the air around them, and the earth from the ground below them. That, combined with the energy she would pull from the sun at high noon, would provide the energy to channel the spell. What the knife was for, Caroline didn't exactly want to know.

Caroline sat up, again feeling the distinct urge that all was not well. "Ok, so then why don't we run this by Stefan and Damon first – they might not be as old as Katherine, but they've dealt with witchcraft for a LOT longer than we have. They could tell us their thoughts on the spell, just to cover our bases."

THAT made Elena and Bonnie pause, but only for a moment. They looked at each other uncertainly before turning back to Caroline. Elena hesitated before responding, "I need some space from Stefan, Care, and neither of us really want Damon involved. You know what his response would be."

"Um, yeah, Damon would go ballistic." Caroline snorted.

And Damon most certainly would go ballistic. Its bad enough that Elena could potentially be in danger due to something entirely out of anyone's control, but for her to get involved in a spell casting?

It would be a pretty safe bet to say Damon's answer would be 'hell no'.

"Exactly. So, we do this without the Salvatore's input. Besides, trust me, Caroline, this will work." Bonnie stated much more confidently than Caroline felt.

"Well, what about Lucy? You found a cousin who's also a witch… Lets take advantage of that and just ask for a second opinion."

"Relax, Caroline, this is just a fact finding spell. What's the worst that could happen?"

Well, if there was ever a sentence in the English language that would make Caroline feel worse about the situation – that was it.

"Famous last words…" she said as she slid from the bed to join her friends on the floor.

"Ok, guys, this is kind of complex, but it's doable. Elena, I'm going to be channeling you. I'm sorry, but I need you to cut your hand. We need your doppelgänger blood for the spell. Caroline, you're a vampire – a creature of unnatural magic. I can also channel you for this, so we'll need some of your blood as well." Bonnie handed Elena the knife. Elena, steeling herself, made a shallow cut on the palm of her hand, before passing the knife to Caroline, who did the same. "Sorry again, guys, I know this sucks. Just, hold your hand over the bowl, and allow the blood to drip into the water. The spell should take effect fairly quickly. From what I could decipher, what we need to know should come to you in a vision." Bonnie cut her hand, and joined her friends in letting the blood drip into the water.

After a moment, Bonnie wiped her hand on the grass next to her, and taking a deep breath, lit the candles around the girls and began to chant.

Caroline watched as the blood swirled in the water, tinted it a deep crimson, as she listened to Bonnie's calm and confident voice. Feeling the heat from the sun directly in the sky above her, she soaked in the heat, basking in its warmth. At first, she thought it was her imagination going wild from the spell, but the temperature continued to rise, until it was almost unbearable. She looked across the circle to find Elena was beginning to look uncomfortable, as well, giving Caroline the confirmation she needed to know that this was part of the spell, and not something her imagination conjured.

"Bonnie…" Caroline began, getting more nervous as the temperature continued to climb.

The area began to feel like the inside of a furnace. Looking around her, Caroline began to notice that the grass beneath them was beginning to crisp and scorch. The heat made the air around them shimmer, blurring the girls vision. Blinking to clear her eyes, Caroline realized it wasn't a mirage. Her surroundings were actually beginning to blur and fade. Looking at Elena, she saw the fear and shock in her eyes as Elena came to the same realization.

"BONNIE!" Elena shrieked in fear as Bonnie fought to keep chanting. Bonnie's nose had begun to bleed liberally, making Caroline's blood run cold as the trees around them faded away entirely.

Caroline felt the heat pressing against her, crushing her under what felt like endless pounds of pressure. Suffocating, she focused on just drawing breath, to no avail. She felt Elena collapse next to her, followed by Bonnie, before darkness enveloped her senses. The last thought that crossed her mind before she fell was that she knew this was a bad idea.


	2. Chapter 2: And All Was Not Well

**A/N: Hey all! Thanks for all of the kind words! Here's the second chapter to my story. It's a day or so early, I hope you guys enjoy!**

 **Chapter 2 – And All Was Not Well.**

As Caroline slowly woke from their ordeal, she became aware of a few things at once. First of all, she felt like she was run over by a freight train… It wasn't a feeling she had very often anymore since she became a vampire. Secondly, she was lying on something that was most definitely not her bed. There wasn't a soul on earth that deserved to lie on something as uncomfortable as she was suffering from at the moment. Last of all, it was quiet. Eerily quiet.

From the first moment of her undead life, Caroline had been more aware of the many sounds that surrounded her on a daily basis. Cars she could hear from miles away, her neighbors arguing (and she thought HER family had issues), sirens going off, airplanes in the sky; it was never _really_ quiet anymore.

So when she became aware that she was only hearing leaves rustling in the wind and the soft heartbeats of her friends next to her, warning bells began to sound off in her head.

Opening her eyes, Caroline sat up and looked around, only to find Elena and Bonnie, still unconscious, in a small thicket. Sunlight was scattered in the browning leaves above her, and there was enough chill in the air to tell Caroline that while it had been summer when she fell unconscious, now it was a brisk autumn day.

Groaning as she pulled herself up, she made her way over to her friends, first checking on Bonnie, and then Elena. Both of them had strong heartbeats and didn't seem to be injured in any way, other than the blood on Bonnie's nose and the small cuts on both of their hands. Caroline leaned over, and lightly began to rouse Elena back to consciousness. "Elena… Come on, wake up…"

Elena, making a disgruntled noise, slowly came to, shaking her head and groaning softly in pain. Seeing Caroline was uninjured, Elena peered around her, spotting Bonnie lying on the ground. "Bonnie!" Elena scrambled to her friend's side, "Bonnie, wake up! Care, what happened?!"

"Elena, relax! I think Bonnie will be ok – her heartbeat is fine, she's just… out of it for a while."

Nodding, Elena came to the same conclusion after doing her best to clear the blood of Bonnie's face and checking her pulse. "Whatever the spell did, it must have really taken it out of her…"

"Well, her spell just transported three people to… wherever this happens to be. So, yeah, I don't know much about witchcraft, but I can imagine she'll be sleeping for a while."

Finally raising her head, Elena finally took a moment to examine their surroundings. "So you have no idea where we actually are?"

"Not a clue. I can't hear anything; no cars, trains, airplanes… basically human life in general. There's nothing out there but trees and rabbits…"

"That can't be right, that's not how Bonnie said this spell was supposed to work – "

The stress of the unknown finally got to Caroline, and she snapped. "Seriously?! Enough, Elena! Obviously things didn't go the way we planned! What a shock, the iffy spell in the sketchy grimoire didn't work! If only we had taken just a moment to get someone, _anyone_ else's opinion, we wouldn't be stuck… wherever we are!"

Spinning around, Caroline tried desperately to reign in her emotions. She knew this wasn't Elena's fault; snapping at her wasn't going to solve anything. If anything, her harsh tone made everything worse, going by the gutted look on Elena's face. Even knowing that, Caroline couldn't help but feel frustrated and angry. She knew – _she knew_ – that the casting was a bad idea, and had tried everything to convince her friends otherwise. She couldn't help but listen, just for a minute, to that dark voice in the corner of her mind saying that her friends didn't really care for her opinion, her friends only cared for themselves. It hurt to think so, especially after everything they had been through. Shaking herself loose from her morose thoughts, Caroline focused on her breathing, fighting back her resentment.

Elena, however, was still reeling from Caroline's harsh words. The worst part was, Elena knew every word was true. They hadn't taken the time to properly think it through; they had given in to the excitement of finally having the key to her doppelgänger heritage, and now they were all paying the price. They were lost in a strange wood, their best hope of getting home incapacitated for an indeterminate length of time, and that was even if Bonnie had any idea of what to do.

Caroline, having finally gained control of herself, turned back to her best friend. "I'm sorry, Elena. That was completely out of line; I didn't mean to jump down your throat. It's just… I mean, I –"

"Its ok, Caroline. You're right, anyways… we shouldn't have jumped into it like that. We should have listened to you."

"Lets… Lets just take a breath. Things might not be exactly what we thought they would be, but that doesn't mean that the spell didn't work."

Elena shakily stood, brushing down her jeans. Taking a few steps, she turned to take in their surroundings. "We just… Lets just try walking in one direction. Maybe we'll come across something that will explain what exactly is going on."

Caroline nodded, closing her eyes as she focused on hearing something, _anything,_ around them that could help them out of the situation they had found themselves in. She blocked out Elena and Bonnie's gentle heartbeats, straining her ears, trying and being rewarded with the tiniest whisper of possible human life.

"That way," as Caroline pointed to the northeast, "It's not much, but it's the best I have right now. Once we get closer, maybe I'll be able to tell something more."

Elena smiled softheartedly, thanking every star in the sky that she wasn't alone. "That's great, Care. Should we leave now? Or wait for Bonnie to wake up?"

"Lets go now. No time like the present, right? Besides, I think my considerable vampire strength can handle Bonnie Bennett."

"Don't let her hear that."

Giggling, relieved that at least some of the tension had fled, both girls steeled their nerves for what lay ahead. Caroline gently grabbed a hold of Bonnie, and settled her on her back, piggyback style, and the girls began to walk.

As they hiked through the thick wood around them, Caroline leading, they kept their eyes and ears peeled for any sign of life that wasn't of the furry variety. Their situation was far from ideal; none of the girls had their cell phones on them, they were hopelessly lost, and there wasn't much daylight left. Soon enough, night would settle in, and the temperature would plummet. Caroline would be fine – its not like vampires could get hypothermia – but Elena and Bonnie were far from appropriately dressed for the weather. All of them were dressed in jeans and light, sunny tops; perfect for a bright summer day, not so much for camping in the crisp autumn weather.

Even ignoring the weather situation, Caroline was still worried about the results of the spell casting. This was far from a vision in every way. Bonnie was still out cold, and there was no way of being sure of what happened without her input. She had her suspicions, of course; the fact that there hadn't so much as an airplane in the sky was more telling than Caroline wanted to deal with at the moment. She couldn't be sure – having never left Virginia before – but there couldn't be too many places on earth that had literally zero signs of modern development. The area around her still looked like she was in Virginia, so her minuscule hope that they had found themselves in Siberia was dying by the minute.

 _Focus._ Caroline breathed through her growing panic. _Things could be worse. Elena and Bonnie could be seriously hurt. We could have been separated somehow. When Bonnie wakes up, she can help; we'll be able to figure out what to do to get us back home._ Feeling better after convincing herself that things were better than they appeared, Caroline continued on.

Elena was much more morose, however. They were in this mess entirely because she couldn't just let things go. She insisted on Bonnie casting the spell, despite not consulting anyone else for advice. Her guilt only added to the misery she felt over her aching body and numb limbs; the cold felt like it was sinking into her very bones.

Unable to get her mind off of its one track of desolation, Elena thought of all of the mistakes she had made that lead them to this scenario. She thought of Stefan, and how she had left things with him. Part of her insistence on discovering her doppelgänger heritage was just trying to keep her mind off of her hurt. She thought of Jeremy and Jenna, and the worry and anguish she would be putting her family through when they realized they were missing. Their lives were already a mess dealing with the fact that she was the doppelgänger; she was adding another whole level of grief in their lives by her disappearance.

Stumbling over her frozen feet, Elena didn't even realize that Caroline had paused until she barely avoided a collision. Caroline, having decided it was close enough to dusk and needing to get her friends out of the chilly fall air, had found a small cave. "Lets take a break. We need to get you and Bonnie warmer, and I could use a bunny." Leading Elena through the encroaching darkness, they made their way to the cave entrance and stepped inside.

Setting Bonnie down on the cave floor, Caroline took in their surroundings. It was dark and cold, but out of the bitter wind. The ambiance wouldn't help their frame of mind; if anything were gloomier than their mood, it would be this cave. They would have to make it work for the best, though; it was better than sleeping in the open.

 _Better take care of things one at a time. Blood first._ Turning back to the entrance, she turned to Elena, "I'm going to head out. Stay here, try to stay warm, I'll be back soon. I'm just going to grab a few bunnies to hold me over for now."

Elena held out her hand to make her friend pause, just for a moment. "Thank you, Caroline, for everything. This is probably the worst case scenario we could have imagined, and… and I don't think I could have done this without you."

Caroline looked back at her friend, smiling warmly. "What are best friends for?" Making a mental note to grab some firewood on her way back, she turned and vamped away.

Elena watched her go, and then turned around to inspect their temporary dwelling. There wasn't much to it; it was about 10 feet in diameter, narrowing close to the entrance to create a natural doorway that was about 4 feet wide. Looking at the opening, Elena realized how lucky Caroline was to have spotted it – there was a natural outcropping near it that did a fairly good job at blocking it from view.

Suddenly, a quiet moan interrupted Elena's scrutiny of the area. Spinning back, she turned to see Bonnie slowly coming back to awareness. "Bonnie! You're awake! Are you ok?" Fussing over her, Elena helped Bonnie sit up as Bonnie looked around, trying to ascertain what was going on.

"I'm fine, Elena. I feel like someone decided to take a crowbar to my head, but it will pass. Where are we, though? This… this isn't really something I was expecting."

Elena's frenzied motions came to a pause at Bonnie's questions. She didn't entirely know how to answer Bonnie's questions… partially because she didn't know what had happened herself, but also partly because it was becoming obvious that the spell hadn't done what they thought it would and it was Elena's responsibility to shoulder this fiasco on her own. She was the doppelgänger, it was her urging to do the spell without proper research, and it was her fault that they didn't get a second opinion before the casting. Feeling a little sick, Elena also came to the realization that they hadn't even told anyone about the spell – only the three girls knew they would be in the wood to cast it. There would be no one to even know what had become of them; no one to even start to guess what had happened.

Bonnie felt a growing fear at Elena's hesitation. It was obvious things hadn't gone the way that they had planned – _an I-told-you-so would be well deserved from Caroline_ – but things were becoming clear that things were much worse than they appeared.

Noticing Caroline's absence, Bonnie felt a sharp jab of dread piercing her stomach. "Where's Caroline? Is she-"

"She's fine, Bonnie, she went to go hunting, she was getting thirsty, I guess."

"Hunting? Caroline hates hunting. The last time Stefan took her out, she complained for hours about fur in her mouth-"

"Bonnie… Things aren't… We aren't home anymore."

"Well, yeah, Elena, we're in a cave. … What aren't you telling me? Where are we?"

Elena shifted around, wishing more than ever Caroline were here. "We have no idea where we are, Bonnie. There aren't any people around. There's nothing. No airplanes, no power lines… nothing. We've actually been walking for a while; well, Caroline carried you. Caroline had heard… something… that she thinks might be humans, but she's not sure."

Bonnie was stunned. This was so far out of the realm of what she had anticipated; she had no idea what to think. Desperately thinking back to her grimoire, she tried to remember the steps of the spell, the words… Trying to think back to where she could have made a mistake.

Elena, seeing the horror rising on Bonnie's face, tried to apologize. "Bonnie, I'm so sorry. This is my entire fault. Caroline was right, all along, we should have waited. Please don't feel bad, please…"

Bonnie slowly rose to her feet, stumbling to the entrance of the cavern and looked out. The unwelcome image of a dark wood surrounding them was practically mocking her, displaying with an absolute certainty their error. Breathing deep, Bonnie bowed her head, biting back her guilt and fear, and turned back to her shaking friend. "Its ok, Elena. We all decided to do this, remember? We just wanted you safe… and I guess we just got a little too eager."

Stepping closer, Bonnie enveloped Elena in a light hug, comforting her through her growing tears. "It will be fine – WE will be fine. Lets just… first lets get comfortable. Its getting dark and cold, and we're both tired. How about we pick up some branches and leaves quick, before it gets too dark, and I'll start a fire. That way, at least we can be warm."

Blinking back tears, Elena nodded, and the girls got to work. Gathering up enough dry wood and leaves, Bonnie lit them, starting the flame, and they fed it so that soon enough, there was a heartening blaze in front of them.

"Well, look at you guys! You've been busy!"

Startled, Elena and Bonnie looked up to see that Caroline had returned, carrying with her armful of wood, which included a few small wild apples that had been balancing at the top. Setting down her load, Caroline handed them the welcome fruit she had found, and sat down with them in front of the cheering fire. "I brought more wood, I was just going to see if I could rub them fast enough together to get them started, you know, friction and all… but this is much better! When I was gathering up the wood, I found a few apple trees that were ripe and ready for picking. Its not much, but it will do, right? How are you, Bonnie? You kind of had us freaked for a bit…"

Bonnie smiled warmly at her, more grateful than ever that she had mended her burnt bridges with her friend after her unintentional transition to vampirism. "I'm fine, Care, just a heck of a headache that will pass by morning, thanks." Biting into their apples, the two girls enjoyed their meager, but delicious, meal while Caroline watched.

Shifting to get more comfortable, Caroline began to chatter to fill the silence. "Caught a bunny and a few squirrels for now – still REALLY hate the fur, this is going to get old – so I'm good for the night on blood. Might go out in the morning again, I'll grab you guys some more apples for breakfast. Oh, and there's a little creek not far from here, so there's water to wash up in. I still haven't seen anything that could remotely be construed as modern, but I did come across a few things that I think were traps? Not the metal ones, they were made of sticks and things, but its something. The sounds I noticed before are louder, and I'm really sure its people. Not like cars or anything, but at least its people. We should be there by tomorrow, I think."

"Are we just going to walk up to them? What do we say? Its not like we can just come out and say Bonnie's a witch and we screwed up." Elena remarked.

Bonnie shrugged at Elena's comment, "No, but its not like we can't afford to avoid them. All we can do is just walk towards them, and try find someone to help."

Caroline nodded, "Exactly. Besides, I'm a vampire, remember? My compulsion skills are free of service, and right now I have zero qualms about using them liberally."

Laughing lightly, they all smiled, feeling a lot better now that they were fed, warm and all healthy and conscious. Having that light in the darkness, knowing that there was some sort of hope to have, had all of them slowly growing courage and shedding their doubts that they would indeed all get through this, together.

Elena looked back to Bonnie, "So, any guesses on what actually happened?"

Bonnie shook her head. "Not really. My best guess is that I made a mistake somewhere in the spell, but I can't think of where I could have possibly made it. Likely, it just transported us to these woods. I can't think of why it would do that, though… most spells just don't work when I mess up, they don't really blow up in my face like this. Most spells, especially big ones like that, are so precise that screwing up is like only putting three wheels on a car… the car won't go anywhere, but it won't explode."

"Well, maybe the people we'll find tomorrow will have a powerful enough witch to help explain what happened."

After another few moments of silence, Caroline stretched out and leaned back, "Either way, we can't really do anything right now. We might as well get some sleep now, ladies. Tomorrow's a big day."

Lying down next to her, Bonnie and Elena moved to get comfortable. Silence once again reigned in the small cavern, and before long, all of them were quietly dozing off to the crackling sounds of the fire and the rustling leaves.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hey everyone, chapter 3 is up - this one was a bit tougher than the first two, mainly because 1) I needed a bridge chapter before things really start to roll, you guys will see the Originals start to pop up within the next chapter or so. and 2) This chapter has a foreign language, because I'm all about as much realism as I can imagine. The problem is, I don't know any more than about 20 words in any Scandinavian language, and I only know that because of my very sweet Swedish grandmother. I'm going to be straight up honest with all of you, I used Google translate for the foreign parts. I wrestled with the idea, because I know using Google translate is like asking a dog to be a translator, and I didn't want to alienate any potential native speakers, but at the same time, I really felt like it adds just a bit to the dialog. Anyways, I included what I had meant to say in bold right after, so hopefully its not excessively irritating. My apologies to any fluent Norwegian speakers. Anyways, I hope you all enjoy, thanks!**

 **Chapter 3 – First Contact**

Blinking awake, Caroline stretched her stiff muscles as she swallowed a yawn. Still mildly bothered by the reigning silence, she looked over to her slumbering friends and then to the cave entrance, where she noticed the light pouring through. Slipping out the opening, she breathed deeply in the brisk morning air. Closing her eyes, she pretended for just a second that she was just leaving her home in Mystic Falls, going for an early morning run before school. Sadly, her fantasy didn't last, as she opened her eyes to the foggy haze drifting through the forest in front of her.

Setting her attention towards gathering breakfast, she thought through their hopes for the day. She was still hearing activity to the northeast – with any luck, they would have something better than the hard ground the slumber on that night. It was hard to plan anything… they didn't really have much of an idea where they were. All of Caroline's ideas were dependent on whether or not they had a route home from wherever they were.

 _Again, first things first. Focus on the now, plan for the later._ Nodding to herself, she focused on catching her breakfast.

After she drank her fill, Caroline made her way over to the fruit orchard she had seen last night. She gathered enough apples to actually make a proper meal for her friends, as well as something to eat later. With no guarantees that they would be able to find anything for lunch, they could at least eat as much fruit as she could gather.

With her arms full, she made her way back to the cave. Knowing that today would be another day just as tiring as the previous, Caroline still had high hopes for an early start, to better ensure they could find help that day. If they were able to find help that day, Caroline was sure that she would be able to use her compulsion to get the help they needed – as long as vervain wasn't known by the local populace to be a viable vampire repellant. She wasn't blind; she had seen plenty of vervain growing in the area… enough that she was positive that the burning flower was a native plant to the region. Knowing that it could seriously jeopardize their ability to get the help they need was concerning to Caroline, but as Bonnie had mentioned the previous night, they couldn't afford not to seek their help.

As she got within hearing distance of their small shelter, she heard her friends talking and giggling with each other. With a smile, Caroline made her way towards the entrance, and stopped with a laugh at the site her friends made. Bonnie, with her hair well tousled, was attempting to help Elena untangle her long locks… it was apparent that sleeping on a rock floor wasn't doing any favors to their hair.

Upon hearing another laugh, Bonnie and Elena turned to see Caroline walk forward. "Good morning!" They chimed.

"And you brought breakfast!" Elena gladly made her way over to unburden Caroline of the fruit, taking a bite of an apple as she tossed one to Bonnie.

"Good morning guys! I'm glad to see you're up!" Caroline responded, "Again, these apples aren't much, but I brought enough to hopefully get you guys through the day. Tonight, with any luck, we can get a better meal."

Bonnie smiled warmly at the blonde vampire, "This is wonderful, Caroline, seriously."

"Care, you mentioned a small creek last night? Any chance we could make a quick stop?" Elena, still working one hand through her hair as she ate her apples, had hoped to possibly wash it out.

"Yeah, its practically on our way out. Although, it's really cold, taking a bath isn't going to be a good idea for you guys."

Humming her displeasure at that, Elena nodded her agreement. "Well, maybe we'll get super lucky tonight and we'll be able to use someone's bath or shower."

Bonnie laughed at her friend. "Lets just hope that they know someone to help, first, before we start taking over their homes."

"Well, if you guys are ready, we can start walking." Nodding along, the girls made their way through the forest, once again following Caroline. Stopping only for a moment that the small, quick brook to wash their face and hands in the cold water, they hiked through the morning, chattering as they kept watch for any sign of the local populace. Despite their situation, all of the girls were in a much happier frame of mind that morning than they were the previous day. Their concerns didn't seem as pressing, their worries were further away in the bright morning sun, and they were all feeling much more confident about their chances of getting back home.

* * *

Hours of walking later, the girls had almost literally stumbled onto a dirt pathway that was curving through the wood, going in the same direction as the sounds Caroline had been hearing for the past day.

As they ambled along the small path, Caroline stopped focusing on their surroundings to really process what she was hearing. The sounds that were crossing her ears didn't make her feel better about their situation; in fact, it made her feel much worse. She heard a few animals, cattle, pigs and the like, and a few calls from one person to another, unfortunately none she could understand. Not knowing how to handle asking for help from people who spoke an entirely different language, Caroline began to think of ways to hopefully communicate their needs to whomever they found first. She heard what sounded like hammers pounding, some sort of grinding sound and… swords clashing?

Caroline was so deep in thought, she hadn't heard anyone approaching from behind until a sudden shout called to them. Spinning around in shock, the girls were met with the site of a cart pulled by a large horse, with its driver waving to them from its seat.

"Hei, jenter, hva gjør du på veien?" **Hey, girls, what are you doing on the road?**

As the cart approached, the girls saw that driver was an older man, with a thick beard speckled with grey, wearing what looked like cotton tunic and pants. Beside him, on the cart seat sat a woman of about the same age, dressed in a long, conservative brown dress, with her long hair braided back. The cart they rode in was a fairly large one, with multiple baskets and bags in the back. The site made the girls anxious for the first time that day, now that they were faced with something wholly unfamiliar to them. They moved to the side of the path as the cart slowed to a stop in front of them, and the three girls clutched at each other, not knowing what to do, and yet knowing that this was the chance to ask for help they were searching for.

The old woman, her face showing her concern over their appearance, called out from the seat of the cart. "Hva gjør du her? Hva har du på deg? Har dere jenter trenger hjelp?" **What are you doing here? What are you wearing? Do you girls need help? "**

Caroline, still scolding herself for not noticing their approach long before they were within site of the couple driving the cart, gathered her courage and spoke, "Hello? Um, do you speak English?"

With a startled look, the old couple glanced at each other before looking back to the girls in the road. After a moment, they both stepped down from the cart, with the old man keeping a firm grip on the reins.

The old woman, stepping forwards towards the three, carefully inspected them all, taking in their light summer blouses and skinny jeans with a sharp eye. "Vi vet ikke hvilket språk du snakker? Hvor i all verden fikk du tre kommer fra?" **We do not know what language you speak? Where on earth did you three come from?**

Caroline, feeling her confidence fade with every word she didn't understand, began to mildly panic. She wasn't sure if her compulsion would work if the person didn't know or speak her language, and given the state of the couples dress, and the cart they were riding on, she wasn't sure if they would even begin to know how to help them at all.

Elena, seeing Caroline deflate at the woman's question, elbowed her friend in the side. "Care, what do you think we should do? Do you think we can still compel her?"

"I… I don't know… I've never tried to compel someone who didn't speak English, I have no idea if it would work at all."

"Well, I guess there's no time like the present to try, right?"

Nodding at her friend, Caroline stepped in front of Elena and Bonnie, and caught the woman's eye. With her pupils widening, she said, "Stay calm, don't freak out. We're just three lost girls, who need help to the nearest town."

The woman looked at her for a moment and then relaxed, and began to fuss over the scruffy state the three girls were in. "Fattige jenter, mistet er du? Og se på deg, for et rot! hvor fikk du sove? skogen? Hvor fikk du sove? Skogen?" **Poor girls, lost, are you? And look at you, what a mess!** **Where did you sleep? The forest?**

The old man, loosing up at her words, began to chuckle. "De er tapt, er de? Uansett, vil vi bare ta dem med og slippe dem av på bygda opp fremover." **They're lost, are they? No matter, we'll just bring them along and drop them off at the village up ahead.**

"Ja, vi vil gjøre det. Få dem et par kjoler fra handlevognen , vil noen av Anya gamle de gjør. De kan ikke gå på kledd sånn, for skam!" **Yes, we'll do that. Get them a few gowns from the cart, some of Sonya's old ones will do. They can't go on dressed like that, for shame!**

Chortling, the old man tied off the horse's reins to an overhanging branch, and began to dig through the items in the cart. "Hjelpe til dine strays igjen, er du? De trenger mer enn et par kjoler. Gitt deres utseende, de er ikke fra disse delene. Vi må gå god for dem på bygda." **Helping out your strays again, are you? They'll need more than a few gowns. Given their looks, they're not from these parts. We'll have to vouch for them at the village.**

"Og vi vil. Det bør ikke være for mye av et problem, tre unge jenter er enkle å betjene." **And we will. It shouldn't be too much of a problem, three young girls are easy to accommodate.**

Finding what he was searching for in the cart, the old man stepped back and handed the gowns to his wife. The old woman, holding out each gown, handed each of them a gown, and motioned to a nearby copse, indicating they should change.

Shocked by the actions of the old couple and their luck, the three made their way and began to change.

Elena, pulling off her top, glanced at Caroline. "I guess it worked, then?"

Nodding, Caroline agreed. "Yeah, I guess it did. I just mentioned we needed help. I guess these two are nice enough to go above and beyond, you know what I mean?"

Chewing on her lip, Elena wasn't entirely convinced. Did the couple help them because of the compulsion? Or were they just helpful people in general? Deciding not to bring it up at that moment, she focused on the ties on the gown.

Bonnie was also trying to focus on putting on the long, green gown, desperately trying to hold back her panic. Upon seeing the cart and the couple, she had begun to realize exactly what had happened, and was now trying to find the right moment to tell her friends of her suspicions. Time travel was never the first thought that came to anyone's head; the idea was so ludicrous, Bonnie herself was still trying to wrap her head around it. Although, lacing the ties on the homespun gown she was wearing was a stark confirmation of where, or rather _when_ , they were.

After all of them managed to get their gowns in order, helping each other when necessary, they gathered up the clothes they were wearing and made their way back to the waiting couple. The old woman had since climbed her way back into the seat of the cart, and was holding the reins for her husband, who was waiting for the girls near the back.

The old man, holding out his hand, motioned to them to climb into the cart. "Up du får, kan du tre ri i ryggen, det er ikke langt til vi skal få deg et trygt sted." **Up you get, you three can ride in back, its not far until we'll get you somewhere safe.** After helping each of them climb up, he made his way back to his seat, and started the cart again once they were all settled.

Riding in the cart wasn't much better than walking. It was a rough ride, as all three girls had to hold onto the sides of the cart to keep from falling over. However, after walking all morning and for a good portion of the afternoon, they were grateful for the rest.

Bonnie, finally deciding that she couldn't hold off anymore, cleared her throat to get her friends attention. "Guys?"

"Yeah, Bon?"

She sighed, picking at the hem of her gown, not knowing how they would receive this revelation." Guys, I'm pretty sure I figured out what happened. You know, with the spell?"

"What's up, Bonnie, what do you think?" Caroline had immediately caught on to Bonnie's hesitation, and glanced at Elena, catching her eye, noticing that Elena was seeing the same reluctance from their friend. Turning back to Bonnie, she tried her best to put her at ease with a disarming smile.

"It sounds crazy, but guys, I'm pretty sure we traveled back in time. Elena, do you remember the wording of the spell? It said, 'to witness what they seek.' Well, we were seeking information on why Elena was a doppelganger… And now we're going to witness how that happened."

Bonnie's words felt like a bucket of cold water dumped over her head. It was one thing to have her own suspicions, but quite another to hear them confirmed from another. Hearing Bonnie's explanation, it made a lot more sense to her what exactly had happened, and now Caroline was a lot more doubtful that they could make their way back home any time soon.

Elena was just as horrified, coming to the full realization of what exactly their situation was. They were trapped, as Bonnie's grimoire didn't make the journey with them, in a strange era, and didn't know the local customs or language. "I'm sorry." Elena despondently whispered, once again feeling all of the crushing weight of their failure on her shoulders. "This is all my fault, I was the one who-"

"Elena, stop." Caroline halted her friend mid-apology. "Remember, we talked about this all already, what's done is done, we just have to make do with what we have. Besides, we're all fine, nothing really changed from yesterday. I still have my compulsion, Bonnie is still a witch, and we'll figure this out."

Nodding, Elena bit back the tears in her eyes and grabbed onto both of her friends hands. "Right, you're absolutely right. We can figure this out, all three of us."

Bonnie, heartened by the fact that her friends were handling the news with so much hope, squeezed Elena's hand and smiled at them both. "Hey, at least now we know, the spell really did work. Elena, we can still figure out what we can about doppelgangers."

Caroline nodded along, catching on to what Bonnie had said, taking comfort from the idea that while their situation wasn't ideal, it didn't have to be in vain. "Exactly, we'll finish what we started, and make this whole trip actually worth it, right?"

Encouraged by the fact that they still had a purpose to their unfortunate circumstances, the three girls regained some of the confidence that they had that morning, just in time for Caroline to notice that the cart was approaching what looked like a large village. Bracing themselves for what was to come, the trio just hoped that their mistake wouldn't prove to be as terrible as it had seemed.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hey all! Sorry this is a little bit late - I started a new job this week! Things have settled down now though, so no worries, the next chapter will be up by Monday. Thanks guys! I really appreciate all of the kind words I've gotten so far - it really brings on the warm fuzzies.**

 **Chapter 4 – First Glimpses**

As the cart entered the perimeter of the village, Caroline took in everything around her with wide eyes. Small wooden homes were scattered throughout the settlement, people dressed in long woolen gowns and leather darting back and forth. Soon, a small gathering was beginning to form around the cart, and Caroline heard the foreign murmuring amongst them, obviously speculating on the new arrivals.

"Tatia?"

Caroline turned towards the voice that had called out, and was met with the sight of two people approximately of her own age, a young man and a young woman, both with blonde hair. Making their way towards the still moving cart, Caroline noticed the young man had a look of worried confusion on his face, while the young woman, obviously a member of his family, looked upon the scene with a begrudging puzzlement. Focusing her attention to the young man, dressed in dark pants with a light colored cotton shirt and a leather vest, she watched as the concern grew on his face, apparently finding something about the situation horribly wrong.

"Tatia, hva som skjer? Tatia!" **Tatia, what's going on? Tatia!**

Caroline, trying to ascertain what the problem was before things could escalate, begin to notice that it wasn't only the young man watching them with uncertainty – the entire crowd that was beginning to gather were all looking with apprehension and a tiny bit of fear. Looking around, it dawned on Caroline that the attention wasn't focused on all of them, but instead it was focused entirely on…

Elena.

Elena, noting with not a small amount of alarm the attention she was receiving from the group, shifted closer to her friends and ducked her head. However, the attempts to hide had come to late, and as the cart came to a stop, a knot of people had congregated around them, clamoring at her in particular in a foreign language.

Breaking through the din around them was a small cry of shock, drawing the attention of not only the three girls, but the crowd around them. Standing amongst the crowd, to the three friends astonishment, was a doppelgänger.

 _Well, that was fast._ Caroline thought. Obviously the spell knew exactly when and where to bring them… conveniently they didn't even have to look for the girl.

Caroline watched as the young blonde man from before made his way to the dark haired girl's side. He spoke to her in quiet tones, and tried to lead her away from the gathering, only to be brushed off when she turned at ran away from them all. She watched and wondered as he looked back to the cart, catching her gaze for just a moment, before he then turned and followed after the girl whose face Elena carried.

Tearing her gaze away, Caroline returned her attention to the crowd around them. Two grizzled men were speaking to the old man that had helped the girls, glancing often in their direction. Knowing that they were getting the story from the old man and his wife about their circumstances, Caroline turned to her friends with a worried look, knowing that Elena's appearance was yet another unforeseen problem that had no immediate solution.

Bonnie however, watched as one of the men (some sort of village chief or leader, she assumed) turned back to the crowd, barking out a few harsh words, causing them to jump and begin to disperse. The other man had stopped a few of the scattering villagers, saying another few words in a quiet tone. They nodded back to him, sprinting off to complete some sort of task or errand that Bonnie assumed the man had directed to them. She couldn't help but notice the stark differences between the two apparent leaders – one had blonde hair and a cruel visage, the other had brown hair, and gave off a patient, yet strong aura.

The brown haired leader gestured for the three of them to come down from the back of the cart. Hoping to yet salvage the situation, the three hopped down and stood in front of the two men. Bonnie, trying to best not to fidget under both of their sharp gazes, looked back at the two men. They seemed to be waiting for something; whatever it was, it wasn't immediately apparent, as the three girls began to get more nervous as they waited.

Finally, the reason for their delay came in the form of a dark skinned woman, who hurried to their side and quietly spoke to the two men. After a quick conversation, the woman looked at the three girls, eying them carefully. She reached out and grasped Bonnie's hands before Bonnie had the chance to back away, and held on to them tightly.

However, the moment the dark skinned woman touched her skin, Bonnie felt all of her power within her rise to sing out to the woman clutching at her hand. In shock, Bonnie couldn't help but stare at her, as the only other moment that Bonnie had felt this connection was with her Grams, and more recently, with her newfound cousin Lucy.

There could be no mistaking it; a witch's blood calls out to her own blood.

Realizing that the woman in front of her could only be Bonnie's ancestor, Bonnie weakly smiled back at her. The woman softly, but cautiously, smiled back, and then closed her eyes and began to chant. Recognizing a spell casting being done, Bonnie carefully watched her ancestor, trying her best to gleam some sort of understanding of what she was doing.

It became apparent when after a few seconds of chanting, pressure began to build in Bonnie's ears. While it wasn't painful, it was uncomfortable enough for Bonnie to shake her head and try to pull her hands back to break the casting, but the woman only gripped harder at her hands, and continued to chant. After about a minute, just as the pressure was getting to be too much, it finally popped. Bonnie, blinking at the sensation, just barely noticed the next words out of the woman's mouth.

"Hello, child. Can you understand me now?"

Stiffening in surprise and awe, and realizing that she could understand what was now being said around her, Bonnie couldn't help but stammer back.

"Yes! Oh, wow, yes, I can! How – I mean, I'm incredibly grateful, but still, how is this possible? I – "

Smiling warmly back at her, the dark skinned woman interrupted her outburst with a soft laugh. "Relax, child, I can show you. I'm surprised you don't already know of it yet – this was a spell taught to me long ago. Later, however – I think it would be best if I helped your friends."

Squeezing her hands just a bit before letting go, the woman took hold of Elena's hand, and after a small pause, began to chant again. Elena, nervous but trusting in Bonnie's actions, grasped tightly to the woman, grimacing as the spell's conclusion also affected her.

However, both Bonnie and Elena paused in fear as the woman, having grasped Caroline's small hand, dropped it immediately as though it had burned her. Bonnie began to move to Caroline's side, only to stop as she glimpsed the horror and tears filling the eyes of the woman in front of them. The woman, staring at Caroline, swallowed roughly and said with a shaky voice. "Oh, child, I am so sorry. Death came for you too soon."

Bonnie thought back to her first encounter with Stefan, and remembered the wave of death and anguish that washed over her upon contact with the vampire. Realizing that this was likely the first time she was coming into contact with a vampire, Bonnie stepped closer to her and offered the woman her support.

"This is my friend, Caroline. She was… " Bonnie struggled to find the words. "cursed… In a way."

The woman, blinking away tears, nodded sharply at her words. "Yes… Yes, I can sense that. I've never encountered such a curse before… You've been touched by dark magic, child, for that I am very sorry." She gingerly reached out for Caroline's hand again, and began her chant.

Caroline wasn't surprised at the woman's immediate reaction to her touch; she wasn't expecting to see genuine grief from the woman, though. As soon as the woman had begun her first casting around Bonnie, Caroline had anticipated a less than welcome response. After all, witches and vampires haven't exactly been the greatest of allies – far from it. There are only so many times one could hear the words 'going against nature', before you began to assume that the anti-vampire prejudice came standard with the How-To-Be-A-Witch kit, and that it took effort after the fact to overcome it, as it had in Bonnie's case. Caroline had hoped that she could have an opening to flee with Bonnie and Elena before the witch in front of them brought her down with an aneurysm, but after the reaction she had received, Caroline had a glimmer of hope that the woman wouldn't be a barrier to their goals.

Once she was done casting the spell on Caroline, she wiped away the last remnants of her tears and took a deep breath before addressing them all. "Hello, young ones. My name is Ayana. I am the healer here." Turning to gesture to the two men still behind her, she continued, "This is Ansel and Mikael, two of our elders in the village. Bjorn has graciously vouched for the three of you, and as such, we would like to extend our welcome to you."

The man named Mikael stepped forward, looking between the three of them with a expression of suspicion. "The three of you will stay with Ayana, and help her with whatever chores she sees fit. We all have a role within in village to survive; if you don't work, you don't live. Its as simple as that." And with those harsh words, he abruptly walked off, leaving the small group behind.

Ansel, the remaining elder, watched him walk off before turning back to the three girls. "Mikael is a man of few words, and those words that he does choose to utter are often harsh, but wise and true." He gave each of them a solemn look, before his face softened with a smile. "Do not despair, however; I know as with all young ones, mischief will be sought. Do your part, and have no worries; you are safe amongst friends. Ayana will teach you our customs." And with a parting nod, Ansel also left, leaving the three girls with their new guardian.

Ayana gestured for them to follow, "Come now, lets go home. We have quite a bit of work to do for you three to settle comfortably tonight."

They made their way through the wooden homes around them, finally coming to a small one closest to the edge of the wood. In the front of the home was a fire pit, with a few log pieces around it for places to sit – on the fire was a pot of something that looked like stew. To the side of the home lay a large garden that looked as if it were in mid-harvest; there were several larger stacks of dry plants that had been torn out and were laying to the side, as well as a few baskets full of produce set next to the garden.

Walking into the small home, they were greeted with a table in front of a larger hearth, a few hewn chairs around it. To the side was an opening, covered with a woven blanket that revealed a small sleeping area when pulled to the side. Ayana set them with the task of helping her rearrange the sleeping area, moving a few chests and baskets to the side to make much more space for them to sleep that night.

In the middle of their task, they were interrupted with a happy greeting. Turning around, the women in the small home were greeted by an older blonde woman and the same younger blonde woman that Caroline had noticed before when they had arrived. In their arms was a pile of blankets and furs, which they gladly handed off to the girls as they stepped into the small room.

"Ayana, hello! Mikael told me of the new arrivals, and that they were placed in your charge. I thought that I would help you with a few extra blankets – it's getting colder, one can never have enough."

"Thank you very much for your kindness. Girls, this is Esther, Mikael's wife, and her daughter Rebekah. Feel free to ask them for any assistance you may need."

As they introduced themselves, Esther eyed them all, especially Elena, with a speculative eye, as her daughter Rebekah looked on them with open curiosity. The two of them helped them arrange the blankets and furs in makeshift beds on the floor, which held just enough space for the four of them, as long as they removed most of the baskets – which were full of dried herbs and other items – to the common area.

After finding new spaces for the items from the sleeping room they had to remove, Ayana turned back to the girls. "Thank you girls, I think that's enough for the day. If Esther is fine with it, why don't you girls go along with Rebekah and get some water for all of us; she'll show you where it is."

With a bright smile, Rebekah eagerly nodded. Caroline, Bonnie and Elena, hopeful for a new friend in a strange village, excited went along with the suggestion. Ayana and Esther watched them with an indulging smile as they ran out the door with a youthful exuberance. Once they were well and truly departed, however, their smiles faded as Esther turned back to her friend.

"Well, what do you think? When Mikael came in going on about a girl that could be Tatia's twin, I had merely thought he was exaggerating. However, upon seeing her… Ayana, the girl isn't her twin."

"I agree, the two of them are almost perfect copies of each other. I couldn't begin to explain why, though."

Esther quietly thought to herself, as Ayana began to gather supplies for a proper supper for all of them. The girls could be twins, except Tatia had never given any indication before of having a sister as such, making that theory unlikely. Ayana would have never invited Elena into her home and into the village if she had sensed any ill-will from the girl, ruling out some form of shape-shifter or dark magic. Which left…

"Ayana, you don't suppose the girl could be a doppelgänger?"

Ayana, surprised at the suggestion, paused in her preparations for supper. "But, two doppelgängers in the world at once? And they're the same age? No, it couldn't be. I've never heard of a doppelgänger line having two of the same face at the same time in the world.

"I wouldn't know; I've never come across a known doppelgänger line before. Its just… their appearances are too exact to be anything else."

Ayana looked to her friend, and saw the thoughtful consideration on her face at the idea. Her idea was a sound one – the girls being a doppelgänger would explain their similar appearances, although it didn't explain why they existed at the same time. What concerned Ayana more were the implications of having two doppelgängers in the world at once; doppelgängers were an incredibly potent power source for any witch... and Ayana knew better than most what Esther was capable of. Having not one, but two doppelgängers within reach was a temptation that she wasn't sure Esther could refrain from.


End file.
